“At the end of the season, I’ll sit down with my team, I’ll sit down with the Nuggets, and we’ll talk about it. This has been a long summer. I’m just excited to get back to the court.

“I’ve never said I wanted to be traded. I never once said anything about trade talk.”

While that may technically be true, I’m waiting for the follow-up question where some capable reporter asks him if he directed any of his representation to tell the Nuggets that he was interested in being moved to another team. Reports have run rampant for the last month that his agent, Leon Rose, has been pressing the Nuggets to make a move quickly.

By using his agent to make behind-closed-doors trade demands, Anthony has been able to keep his image pretty much intact, since he’s not out running around talking to the media about how he’d like to play elsewhere. It’s a savvy strategy, but to stand there and say that he hasn’t talked about being traded is disingenuous.